Anonymous edits

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Anonymous edits are OSM edits made by a user in anonymous mode; such edits have no public attribution at all (not even a username). The opposite of anonymous mode is public editing mode; edits by such users are publicly associated with a user account.

Unfortunately, users in anonymous mode cannot be contacted via the site's message system, so more experienced users cannot help them avoid mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes cause other user's hard work to be overwritten. For that reason, since April 2009, OSM has not allowed anonymous edits.

Anonymous editing phased out

Since 2007, newly registering users were not able to put their account into anonymous mode. Also, as announced on the mailing list, the online editor (Potlatch) did not allow anonymous edits. As a result, only a tiny minority of users remained in anonymous mode.

Since April 2009, OSM has not allowed anonymous edits via any method.

I am in anonymous mode. How can I continue editing?

This only affects a tiny minority of people who joined OSM before 2007 and have not edited OSM since 2009. If you are not one of these people, you can stop reading now!

To continue editing, you need to Log into the main site as usual. Click on your username at the top right of the screen, then click "My Settings", then click the button "Make my edits public".

What does the "Make my edits public" button do?

The "Make my edits public" button does the following:

  1. Everyone will be able to see a list of your edits (including past edits).
  2. Your edits (including past edits) will be attributed to your user account. These edits will be associated with your display name.
  3. Other users will be able to contact you via the site's message system.

What about my privacy?

OSM will not directly display any information about you, except what is described above. In particular, it will never display your e-mail address (as per the OSM Foundation Privacy Policy).

This is the way it is already set up for the vast majority of OSM users. The change brings OSM more into line with successful communities like Wikipedia. On Wikipedia, if you have an account, your username is always displayed in the history of pages you edit, and other users can contact you. Even if you don't have an account, your IP address (your computer's unique identifier on the Internet) is displayed, which other users can use to contact you via the site.

Having said all that, there are ways that information about you can be leaked, including (but not limited to):

  1. Your editing pattern (including map edits and comments) can reveal information about your home, work or other locations that are significant to you.
  2. Your display name can reveal information about you, especially if you use the same name on other online communities. You can always change your display name to something more anonymous (but remember that some services might still reveal the history of your display names). This comes with its own disadvantages. Using real names or sticking with the same identity across several websites helps you build up reputation and trust.

GPS tracks are not associated with your user account, unless you expressly click "public" for each track.

What if I don't want to click the "Make my edits public" button?

If you want to edit OSM, but don't want to click the "Make my edits public" button, your only alternative is to register a new user account. Your new account would not be in anonymous mode, but you can leave your old account dormant in anonymous mode.

See also